Congratulations to Lindsey Popken, 1 of 10 UW graduate students who were awarded FLAS Fellowships to study French, Nuu-chah-nulth and Tsek’ene in 2020-21. These 10 students represent UW’s School of Law, School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, School of Public Health, Department of Linguistics, and the Applied Masters in International Studies in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies.
Lindsey is interested in sea otter conservation and is developing a project with the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council in British Columbia (B.C.) that she hopes will help shape relations between the Tribal Council and Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans. 

On Thursday, June 11, 2020 the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs held its graduation ceremony via Zoom. A welcome was given by SMEA Director, Nives Dolsak, followed by opening remarks from the College of the Environment Dean, Lisa Graumlich, and a special keynote speaker. Graduating students Charlotte Dohrn and Sallie Lau were nominated as the class of 2020 student speakers. 

On Friday, May 8th and Friday, June 5th, students in the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs will offer their findings in their final thesis presentations. Students have been conducting their research for over a year under the guidance of their faculty advisor, as well as other faculty members and industry professionals.
Those presenting on May 8th, including links to their Zoom presentation are below:

Time Slot
Student Name
Thesis Title
Advisor/Committee

9:40
Charlotte Dohrn
Olympia oyster restoration: habitat suitability and climate considerations
Terrie Klinger/Sunny Jardine

10:00
Emily Buckner
Community Science and Stable Isotopes Analysis: Investigating Spatial Foraging Patterns of a Puget Sound Seabird
Terrie Klinger/Ryan Kelly/Paul Chittaro

10:20
Chris Dailey
Regional and climate-driven factors affecting the timing of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) smolt migrations in Alaska
Terrie Klinger/Tom Quinn

10:40
Abby Jahn
Do Pacific Salmon Hatchery Programs Work for Their Intended Purpose? 

Congratulations to SMEA ’20 students Alex Tellez, Elise Lasky and their team for being awarded 3rd place in the 2020 Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge! Their team, Kokanee Systems, which included teammates from the Foster School of Business, School of the Environmental and Forest Science, and School of Computer Science and Engineering, competed with a water quality monitoring and alert system consisting of a floating monitor that feeds real-time, continuous data to their custom cloud-based data analytics platform. 

Congratulations to recent SMEA graduates Katie Chicojay, Kelly Martin and Spencer Showalter who were selected as Washington Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellows for 2020. The 2020 finalists will become the 41st class of the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship program. The 69 finalists represent 27 of the 34 Sea Grant programs.
Knauss finalists are chosen through a competitive process that includes several rounds of review at both the state Sea Grant program and national levels. 

Congratulations to recent SMEA graduates Tressa Arbow, Rachel Assink, Ashley Bagley, Angela Cruz and Alex Sweetser on being selected for the Washington Sea Grant State Fellowship 2019-2020. The Washington Sea Grant State Fellowship (formerly the Marc Hershman Marine Policy Fellowship) offers a unique educational opportunity for soon-to-graduate or recently finished graduate students engaged in studies pertaining to ocean and coastal policy issues. 

Recent SMEA graduate Zoe van Duivenbode was featured in the College of the Environment’s June newsletter, highlighting her work as a marine educator at Kalaloch Beach in Olympic National Park, where she developed ways she could connect the lessons of the sea to tourists on their summer vacation. Zoe was awarded the Future Park Leaders for Emerging Change Internship, a program for graduate students to work on climate issues related to emerging needs in national parks.  

On Thursday, June 13, the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs held its graduation ceremony in the Fishery Sciences Auditorium. A welcome was given by SMEA Director, Terrie Klinger, followed by opening remarks from the College of the Environment Dean, Lisa J. Graumlich. The keynote address was delivered by SMA alumna and commander of sector Puget Sound, a region that ranges from the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the eastern border of Montana, Captain Linda Sturgis. 

Congratulations to SMEA student Angela Cruz and SMEA student organization SEAS (Student Environmental Affairs Society) on their respective Husky Green Award nominations. The Husky Green Awards are given annually to recognize students, faculty and staff from the Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma campuses who show environmental leadership and dedication. The Husky Green Awards are celebrating the 10th year of recognizing sustainability leadership at the University of Washington. 

Congratulations to second-year SMEA student Samantha Farquhar, who is one of fifteen University of Washington students receiving a Fulbright grant for 2018-19. The Fulbright Program is the United States government’s flagship international educational exchange program. With her Fulbright, Sam will work in Madagascar for 9 months with the marine conservation NGO Blue Ventures. She will be tasked with leading an integrated social survey of fishing communities throughout the Barren Isles.